Hidden Angels
by Sparkles and Rainbows
Summary: Zoe meets two patients who have more to them than first meets the eye. Enjoy and please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N another new one! This idea came to me earlier that wouldn't leave me alone so I thought I would write it up and see what people think of it. Enjoy and please read and review! Xx **

Zoe normally hated cases like this, she always got the same comments from her colleagues; 'Why are you being so detached, Zoe?', 'Can't you see s/he needs our help?'. Of course she could see that the patients needed help, she was a qualified doctor after all. As for being emotionally detached from difficult cases, well, that was a coping strategy.

…

Her first patients were 5 year old identical twins Coral and Lila (pronounced Lye-luh) who were proving to be difficult for Zoe. Not in the sense of their behaviour, in fact she had seldom come across such well behaved children and that in itself raised suspicions from the consultant.

She struggled to tell them apart, they were certainly identical! Zoe walked back into the cubicle, glancing momentarily at the clipboards containing each of their records before turning to face the girls "Right, girls, I need to find a way so that I can tell you apart without having to ask which one you are every time I come in. Any ideas?"

Coral piped up immediately "I'm the one that talks more! My daddy says I'm a real chatterbox, but I never shut up. Lila doesn't really talk, only to me" she smiled, pleased with her idea before looking to Zoe to see if she approved. When she saw the look of concern she quickly added "But she's alright, aren't you Lila?"

Zoe smiled at the young beaming girl who she had now identified as Coral "That's a good idea. But what if you aren't talking? I think we need a back up plan, just in case. I just so happen to have these stickers, so choose one each and I'll be able to remember who you are that way" she held the sheet out to Lila first "Lila, do you want to choose first?" she asked gently, frowning when she instantly shrank back away from her and towards the end of the bed.

Coral took the sheet of stickers from her and moved to sit next to her sister "Lila, which do you want?" Zoe watched as her hands and fingers moved effortlessly as she spoke, before it clicked that she was signing "She had special hearing things to help her hear. The lady said she can't hear as well as me and other children, but she can hear a bit, and sign and lip-read" she explained, as if she had read her mind. Zoe sighed, why wasn't this in her notes? "What sticker do you want?" Coral repeated, holding the sheet out to her again "She wants the butterfly" she told Zoe, emphasising the sign.

Zoe smiled and looked to Lila, and signed 'butterfly'. She watched as Lila signed it back before pushing some of her dark curly hair behind her ears to reveal 2 small hearing aids "Those are pretty" she commented, putting her thumb up, forgetting for a moment that the girl could lip-read. She approached her slowly, then focused on a large bruise at the side of her forehead "What happened to your head?" she asked, pointing to the bruise. Lila simply shook her head and turned towards her sister. Zoe took the opportunity to look at them more closely, they were beautiful little girls, Indian, each with a delicate heart shaped face and dark skin and thick, dark, curly hair that reached their shoulders.

Looking discreetly towards Coral, she noticed that she had a similar bruise, a bit more faded perhaps. Both girls seemed to have lots of bruises and small cuts on their faces, more so than she would expect. She remembered how jumpy they had been when their parents were mentioned, and Zoe was getting more and more concerned over their welfare. She looked back to Lila briefly, who made a sign which Coral translated "She says will you help us? Its okay Lila, the doctor is nice. She can help us"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N thank you for all the review for the first chapter, I hope you like this one! Enjoy and please read and review! Xx **

"Zoe! Zoe! You need to come quick!" the high pitched voice of 5 year old Coral echoed through the hospital as she ran towards the consultant, grabbing her hand and tugging on it.

Zoe looked up from the files that she had been reading, incidentally those belonging to Coral and Lila, concerned. "Right, what's happened?" she asked quickly as she walked with the young girl, noting the blood dripping the side of her face and the scared look in her eyes "What happened to your head? And where's your sister?"

Coral looked up at her, then down to the floor, shaking her head "I'm not allowed to say" she said quietly "But you need to help Lila, she's poorly!" she added, letting go of her hand and sprinting towards the bed where her identical twin sister was lying, curled into a ball. She took her hand "Lila, the doctor's here. The nice lady that was here before, she'll help you"

Zoe smiled reassuringly at Coral, before heading over to the bed to see Lila "Lila, its Zoe" she spoke slowly after she noticed her open her eyes, giving her time to lip read what she was saying "Can you show me where it hurts?" Lila murmured something that she couldn't make out, but put her hand on her stomach "Okay. Your tummy hurts, yeah? Can I have a look?" she waited until she had nodded her consent before she pulled the curtain closed around the cubicle and then returned to the bed, gently moving her t-shirt up so that she could examine her.

Lila whimpered as Zoe pressed down on her stomach, trying to determine what damage had been done "Sorry Lila, I'm almost done" she told her. She had already noted both girls' almost identical injuries when she had examined them earlier. They both had lots of old injuries, but the ones she was currently looking at old were fairly new, presumably from that morning before they had been brought in. She had seen them before, but something must have happened to make them this bad. After making sure that Coral was alright, Zoe gave her some pain relief and headed over to the phone, sighing. Lila would need to stay in hospital, and she wasn't about to let Coral go home with her parents. Not until she had more information.

She returned after the nurse had finished cleaning and dressing Coral's wound, having managed to arrange a transfer to the children's ward for Lila, remarkably quickly "Lila? You're going to need to stay in hospital for a while sweetheart, on the children's ward. They'll look after you, make you better" she explained gently, as Max came to take her upstairs "Look after her" she warned him "Me and Coral will come and see you later"

…

After her shift ended, Zoe headed to the relatives room where Coral was being looked after by one of the nurses "Thanks Tasha" she smiled, letting her go back to her work "Hiya Coral"

"Zoe! Where's Lila, can we go and see her? Is she going to be okay?"

"Not just yet love, I need to talk to you first. Then we'll go and see her, but yes Lila will be alright" she paused, knowing that she have would have to phrase the next part very carefully "Coral, why didn't you want to see your parents earlier?" she watched as the young girl again just shook her head, giving nothing away "Do they hurt you and Lila?" this time she looked up properly at her, hesitating for a moment before nodding slowly "Mummy and Daddy?"

Coral looked at her, her chocolate coloured brown eyes brimming with tears "Mummy and Daddy" she repeated quietly "They say we're too much trouble, that their life was better before they had us two"

After a few minutes there was a knock at the door and the social worker, Sara, walked in. She ushered Zoe over to the other side of the room, talking quietly so that Coral wouldn't be able to hear what they were discussing "She can't go home Sara, there's no way I could allow it knowing what she's just told me" Zoe explained, repeating what Coral had said and explained what had happened earlier in the day.

Sara shook her head, shocked by what she had been told even though she came across a lot of cases similar to this one "Right, she's going to need an emergency foster placement, and Lila, when she's well enough. Someone that will take both of them…"

Zoe spoke up before she had chance to change her mind "I can take them, Coral was discharged this afternoon so they are no longer my patients. I have all the necessary checks and I have the room at my house"

"Once I've confirmed the checks" Sara half smiled at the consultant "I've been to your house before"

"I even have beds, they're in the spare room for when my cousin comes over with her two girls"

…

Sara gave Zoe the all clear to take Coral home with her that day, with a promise to inform the parents that their children were in emergency foster care due to suspected abuse, but they wouldn't be told who was looking after them, and that she would check in on them the next day.

"Come on then, Coral, should we go and see your sister?" she said, taking her hand and watching as she smiled at her, nodding. In that moment Zoe knew that she would do anything to protect her and her sister.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N thank you for all the lovely reviews, follows, favourites and comments so far. Enjoy and please read and review! Xx **

Zoe looked back to the young girl in the back seat, now fast asleep. After watching her for a moment, she walked round to her and picked her up, placing her gently on her hip she locked the car and opened the front door and headed inside.

She put Coral down on the sofa and covered her with a blanket while she started to prepare dinner.

She sighed quietly as she started to peel and chop the vegetables; Lila hadn't been much better when they had gone up to see her and that had upset her twin sister who had wanted to stay on the children's ward with her.

Coral awoke with a start, suddenly sitting up and looking around at her surroundings and panicking when she didn't recognise where she was "Coral? Coral, its okay darling, its me. Zoe. From the hospital, you're staying with me for a while, remember?" she said quickly, smiling at her when she saw the look of recognition creep slowly across her features.

"Where's Lila?" she asked slowly, calmer now that she knew where she was.

"In hospital, on the children's ward. They'll take good care of your sister, don't worry" she smiled at the young girl reassuringly before adding "anyway, dinner's ready so shall we go and eat and then get you ready for bed?" Coral nodded in response and reached out her arms to Zoe to be carried to the table.

Zoe obliged, balancing her on her hip until they reached the kitchen table and then sat her down on a chair. She walked over to the side, serving out the meals and then went and sat down again, placing a plate in front of each of them.

It didn't take long for them both to finish their meals, they hadn't had a chance to eat at the hospital as Zoe had thought it would be best to get Coral back and get her settled "Right, I think its nearly bedtime for you, miss" Zoe smiled, taking her hand "We won't bother with a bath tonight as its late, you can have one in the morning though. I've found some pyjamas for you to wear for tonight, but we'll have to get you and your sister some new clothes tomorrow"

Coral smiled back at her, now dressed in her pyjamas and ready for bed "I like you, Zoe" she said sweetly but sleepily as her eyes began to close "I feel safe in this house"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N thank you for all the lovely reviews, follows and favourites so far! I hope you enjoy this chapter, please read and review! Xx **

Coral awoke quickly, jumping out of her bed and looking around the unfamiliar room. Walking quietly over to the large bay window she opened the curtains, peering out onto the street. For autumn it was still fairly warm and the bright sunshine illuminated everything in its path in a soft golden light.

The small child stood there for a few moments before sitting back down on the bed and picking up the teddy bear that she couldn't sleep without.

Hearing Coral moving about in her bedroom, Zoe smiled, quickly getting up herself and pulling on her dressing gown before heading to see the young girl.

"Morning" she greeted her, smiling.

"Zoe!" she beamed, moving over to where Zoe was sat on the bed and clambering into her lap, cuddling into her.

Zoe smiled back at her, hugging her back as she sat up "Right, let's get some breakfast and then head out to the shops to get some clothes for you Lila. Sound good?" she said, grinning as Coral nodded her head in excitement.

…

"Coral, I washed your dress and tights so you can wear those again until you've got more clothes to wear"

"Thank you Zoe!"

Soon, both were ready and Zoe helped Coral into her car seat, making sure that it was secure before shutting the door and getting in herself.

When they finally arrived at the shopping centre, Zoe held onto the girl's hand tightly, making sure that she didn't wander off. They headed into the nearest shop and went over to the children's section "Okay, what sort of clothes do you like?" Zoe queried, grabbing several packs of underwear and socks and putting them in the trolley.

"Clothes with flowers, Lila likes butterflies" she explained while twirling around.

"Let's start with tops then. How about this?" she offered, pointing to a pastel pink t-shirt with flowers on.

Coral nodded "Yeah! And this for Lila?" she suggested, picking up a purple t-shirt with a glittery butterfly on.

Zoe smiled; it was sweet how she automatically thought of her twin sister even though she wasn't there "Okay. You know Lila better than me, so you can help me pick out clothes for her"

"Okay!" Coral agreed, moving over to the shelf and picking up another top.

They repeated the process until they reached the night time section where Coral ran over to the bed and picked up a midnight blue sparkly bear in one hand and a matching dark purple one in the other "Please, Zoe!" she begged, her big brown eyes sparkling as she saw the consultant nod her head.

Zoe couldn't help but laugh as she watched the girl place the purple bear into the trolley but kept a tight hold of her own "Right, we need pyjamas and new bedsheets seeing as you're going to be staying with me for a while" she paused for a moment before continuing "Sara rang me last night, and she says you can stay with me, and Lila too when she's feeling better"

Coral didn't verbally reply, but nodded her head as she took Zoe's hand and turned to look at the items in the trolley.

Zoe was about to speak when her phone rang. Letting go of her hand for a minute, she smiled at her whilst she answered "Hello, Zoe Hanna speaking. Yes. Oh, I see. That's brilliant news, we were going to come this evening anyway so we'll pick her up around 8. Thank you, bye" putting her phone away she turned to face Coral "That was the doctor from the hospital, we can go and pick Lila up later" she grinned when she saw her face light up and added, looking at her watch "Which means that I need you to help me get your room ready for when she gets home. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Coral beamed, jumping up and down.

…

Clothes and shoes bought, Zoe walked towards the toy shop. Now that the girls had the essentials, she knew that they would need toys and books to keep them entertained. She was bought from her thoughts as Coral gasped in awe "Wow! This shop is really big!" she danced over to the book section, picking one up and then placing it carefully back on the shelf. After a few minutes they had picked out a good selection of books and headed to the next part of the shop.

"So, what do you like to play with?" Zoe asked her as she looked around "And what does Lila like?"

Coral thought for a moment "I like teddies!" she grinned "Lila does too. We both like drawing"

Zoe helped her to choose some art supplies before she spotted the stuffed animals "Go on!" she laughed "Go and choose some for you and your sister, then we need to get going"

…

Back at the house and after they had finished unloading all the bags from the car, Zoe made them both some lunch.

"Coral!" Zoe called to her "I need you to a job for me. Can you find all the books we bought and put them over there?" she said, pointing to the bookcase. "While you do that, I'll make your beds. Thanks sweetheart"

Coral nodded eagerly and started her task while Zoe got out the new bedsheets, butterflies for Lila and flowers for Coral. Coral's bed was by the window where she had slept the previous night, and Lila's was closer to the door.

"Okay, now the clothes are put away, let's sort out all these toys!" Zoe smiled, sitting down on the floor with Coral "Do you want to take your sparkly bears to the hospital and give Lila hers there or leave them here?"

"Take them with us!"

Zoe laughed; she should have guessed "Alright. So…" she began to divide up the stuffed animals, the girls had got some that were the same but some that were different as well.

…

"Coral, you ready?" Zoe shouted up the stairs to her, smiling as she came downstairs in her new blue starry dress "You look lovely, let's go and get your sister"


End file.
